12/25/08 7:35AM -
Christmas morning pictures
12/24/08 9:08PM - Merry Christmas
and Happy Hanukkah from China! We just got back
from a Christmas dinner and luckily we have snacks from
home. We avoided the seven fish dinner.
See some pictures
12/23/08 11:17AM - We are having a much better day today
but the last couple of days have been tough because
Joanna was not feeling well. There is a virus
going around that it seems a couple of the babies might
have. We originally thought it was the U.S.
formula because we mixed just a little with her Chinese
formula....but after a couple of days, and the other
babies getting sick too... it started to get a
little scary. During the long ride yesterday,
Joanna was a trooper and slept most of the time but she
was not herself and not eating well at all. She
kept having 'the runs' ......whoa. a lot. We
were getting very nervous because we did not want her to
dehydrate so even though we really did not want to we
took her (w/ guide) to the hospital. They checked
her over and seem to think it is the virus going around.
They were able to give us medication pretty
quickly.....just a mild antibiotic. We are working
on getting her fluids back in her but it seems that she
is in much better spirits and actually ate a full bowl
of her favorite rice cereal for breakfast. She
also had some big smiles just a little while ago before
she fell asleep which will be posted soon. We will
get into it more when we come home....... but um,
we will just say that the hospital was not what we
expected at all. Let's just say, God Bless the
U.S.A. Please don't worry about
us. We are okay now and actually have a few days
where we can get our groundings and relax a bit.
We are also with a great group of people who have been
very helpful. For right now, we have everything we
need. And this hotel nicer than the one we
came from. So that's a good thing too.
Pictures from
breakfast.
12/23/08 10:55AM - We did not get a chance to post anything
yesterday because it was a long day. We had a
private bus ride with the group and guide from Nanning
to Guilin where our documents are going to be delivered
within the next day or 2. The ride was actually
okay but long. In total, it was about 6 hours but
the bus was roomy enough and air conditioning worked
well. The weather changed though during the ride.
It went from almost 70 to about 35...cold and windy.
We are having a totally amazing experience during this
trip. We are really seeing China. We have
been to the city areas where it is even more crazed than
the hustle of NY and we have seen the poverty stricken
areas of farmland. During the bus ride yesterday,
we drove through Guanxi which is the province that
Joanna is from. So, we got the chance to see the area.
It is very poor. Mostly miles and miles of farmland and
extremely poor conditions. We can only imagine the kind
of life Joanna would have had there. But still, it was
important for us to see it. Pictures from bus ride.
12/23/08 10:24AM - The adoption is now complete however
we need to wait for completed paperwork to be delivered
to our new destination in Guilin. Once we have
these documents, we will have everything for Joanna's
Visa and Passport and can then visit the U.S. Consulate
which we are scheduled for next week in Guangzhou.
She will also have a medical review next week as well.
Once we arrive in Newark, all certified paperwork from
China and U.S. Consulate is handed over to the
Immigration check point. Immediately, Joanna will
be a U.S. Citizen. YEAH!
12/21/08 7:36PM - A young lady yesterday looked at
Joanna in the park and started crying, then walked
away. It reminded us of the one child law here and I
wondered if she herself gave up her own baby. It was a
sad sight to see, but if I could tell her anything, I
would say that all of these children will have great
homes and loving parents.
12/21/08 7:15PM - Today we went to another park with a
temple on top of a hill. Joanna went through what I
would probably compare to a catholic confirmation. It
was interesting. We are all having a great time, but
can not wait to come home and eat a sub, cheeseburger,
or something American! I was not feeling too well this
morning, but after a coke, I was back to myself. My
blood sugar level must have dropped. Andrea and I are
both hungry throughout the day, but the choices are
limited. We brought food and it will suffice, but a sub
from the A&A Italian deli in Lincoln Park, NJ would sure
hit the spot right now! Here are some
new pictures
12/21/08 6:33PM - The internet is not great here and I
am having problems connecting periodically.
12/20/08 1:30PM - We walked around Nanning's People Park
today for about two hours. It was very interesting, but
the pictures really can't capture the experience so I
did take two videos (video
1
video 2). See the
pictures.
12/20/08 9:02AM - We went out for dinner last night to a
very interesting place. It was probably the largest
restaurant I have ever been too with literally
everything you can imagine on the menu. Here are some
some pictures.
12/19/08 9:00PM - Today we went into town to do some
shopping. Xi Xi said many local people have never seen
"westerners" except in movies. We had tons of people
staring at us everywhere we went. At one point we
attracted a very large crowd and contemplated giving
autographs. The streets are jam packed...people, bikes,
and scooters move like gears in a clock. To me it is a
miracle hundreds of people are not run over each day.
Cars do not stop for people. This is not America and
pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way! Only police
and cab drivers have horns though. It costs extra for a
horn!
See pictures
12/19/08 10:40AM - We are meeting with the other couples
today @ 12:00pm to go into town and shop at Walmart, an
outside shopping center, and eat some "American" food.
We are currently staying in Nanning, which is not a
touristy area, so "westerners" as we are called, are far
and few between in this area. We get strange looks when
we walk around. The only westerners in this area are
generally professors at
Guangxi University. Our guide/translator told a few
people yesterday that I work there when she took me into
town to buy some baby supplies and clothes. I was also
the only person out of thousands wearing shorts. Once
winter begins here everybody wears pants regardless of
the outside weather. I find this strange. If you are
hot, wear shorts, right?
12/18/08 7:07PM - We just got notice that our missing
suitcase has been located and will be dropped off
tomorrow afternoon! Check out the
updated pictures
with captions to be posted soon.
12/17/08 11:32PM - Just an update before I hit the
sack... the airline lost one of our large suitcases.
This is just our luck, but hopefully it can be recovered
tomorrow. If not, we are going shopping because I
literally have no clothes besides what I am wearing
today. Andrea has clothes, but not her glasses.
Additionally, we are missing almost all of Joanna's food
and some toys. Luckily, the other couples have been
generous and have donated a bottle and some other small
items.
12/17/08 9:30AM - We are due to leave Hong Kong in a
couple of hours. It is a short 90 minute flight to
Nanning. Once we arrive there we will check in and have
a quick meeting with our group and guide who will tell
us what time we will be meeting Joanna
Pictures
12/16/08 - 8:45AM - The flight was very long, but
luckily we had screens in the seats in front of us with
a ton of movies to watch and games to play. Jason read
the newspaper for about three hours, watched several CSI
episodes, Curb Your Enthusiasm, X-Files the movie,
played chess, and blackjack. Andrea finished reading
one book and watched Will and Grace episodes. We walked
around the plane as much as possible, but did not sleep
one minute of the 16 hour flight. When we reached the
hotel we were greeted by "Ben", basically checked in and
passed out.
12/14/08 10:43AM - We are getting ready to go to Newark
for our 3:00pm flight!
Pictures |
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